Telling Secrets

     Writing is like telling secrets, in a very slow, sort of manipulative way. As writers we should treat our readers like friends we wish to gossip with. We know something, details, a juicy spill we let our friends know in spicy chunks. At work the other night, and usually I'm not the type to gossip (I swear!), a coworker of mine had a story to tell me. Every time she began to talk we would get interrupted. I'd return to her and before she could get knee deep, another interruption! But, I kept returning because her tale had sparked my interest. The more she tried to tell me her story, the more it made me think about writing.

     As her audience I kept coming back, even though job duties kept calling. I knew she had something good to tell. As writers we want our readers to feel this way. We want them to keep coming back to our pages, edgy for our secrets. If we spill everything right up front, our readers might get full on our words and no longer be hungry for more. We have to play hard to get, remain mysterious, and tell our secrets like teasing kisses.

Story Problems

     When I was kid I hated story problems, but that was math. As a writer I enjoy the challenge of working through story problems: plot snags, character glitches, flow issues, word decisions. It can be frustrating and hard work, especially during the editing process. Sometimes plot points don't add up, sometimes you over write, sometimes you under write. Sometimes the research isn't supportive enough for what you are writing. Your main character might feel flat. But that's beauty of it, the hard of it. It reminds of a quote from the film A League of their own, "it's the hard that makes it great." Tom Hanks (my favorite actor) said this about baseball, but as writers we can easily apply the quote to the craft of writing. He also said, "if it wasn't hard, everyone would do it." It's a process, a sometimes rocky one, but I love it! What about you?